Topic 4

Basic Concepts
of
Organizational Structure and Staffing
Organizing
• It is deciding how best to group organizational
elements:

 Designing jobs
 Grouping jobs: Departmentalization
 Establishing reporting relationships
 Distributing authority
 Coordinating activities
 Differentiating between positions
Pg 2 of 33
Exhibit 4–1 Purposes of Organizing

• Divides work to be done into specific jobs and

departments.
• Assigns tasks and responsibilities associated
with individual jobs.
• Coordinates diverse organizational tasks.
• Clusters jobs into units.
• Establishes relationships among individuals,
groups, and departments.
• Establishes formal lines of authority.
• Allocates and deploys organizational
resources. Pg 3 of 33
Designing Jobs
• Job Specialization

• The degree to which tasks in the organization are

divided into separate jobs with each step completed by a
different person.

 Benefits:

 Boosts productivity
 Finding a proper job
 Security in the job
 Helps employees become independent
 Employee becomes more educated
 Specialist employee becomes gets more demanded
 Saves time
 Higher pay Pg 4 of 33
Designing Jobs (Cont’d)
Job Specialization

 Limitations:

 Employee gets obsolete after some time

 Mastering only one skill
 Omission from all positions of managers
 Gets monotonous
 Reduces sight
 Sops multi-tasking
 Require training
 Leads to unemployment

Pg 5 of 33
Designing Jobs (Cont’d)
• Alternatives to Job Specialization

 Job rotation (moving from 1 job to another)

 Job enlargement (increasing number of tasks)
 Job enrichment (increasing number of tasks and
control)
 Job characteristics (skill variety, task identity,
perceived importance of the task, autonomy and
feedback) approach
 Work team (group assigns tasks within
themselves
Pg 6 of 33
Grouping Jobs: Departmentalization

• To be discussed with the next topic

Pg 7 of 33
Establishing Reporting Relationship
 Chain of Command

The continuous line of authority that extends from upper

levels of an organization to the lowest levels of the
organization and clarifies who reports to who.

 Span of Control

The number of employees who can be effectively and

efficiently supervised by a manager.

Pg 8 of 33
Establishing Reporting Relationship
(Cont’d)

 Narrow vs Wide Span

 Tall vs Flat Organizations

Pg 9 of 33
Establishing Reporting Relationship
(Cont’d)
Determining the Appropriate Span

The width of span is affected by:

 Skills and abilities of the manager

 Employee characteristics
 Characteristics of the work being done
 Similarity of tasks
 Complexity of tasks
 Physical proximity of subordinates
 Standardization of tasks
 Degree of required interaction
 Frequency of new problems
Pg 10 of 33
 Preferences of supervisors and subordinates
Distributing Authority
 Authority

The rights inherent in a managerial position to tell people what to do

and to expect them to do it.

 Responsibility

The obligation or expectation to perform.

 Unity of Command

The concept that a person should have one boss and should report
only to that person. Pg 11 of 33
Distributing Authority (Cont’d)

Delegation Process
Reasons for delegation
Getmore work done
Develop subordinates

Steps in the delegation process

Assign responsibility to the subordinates
Granting authority to the subordinates
Creation of accountability by the assignor

Problems in delegation process

Fear for loss of power
Pg 12 of 33
Lack of planning skill results in inappropriate delegation
Distributing Authority (Cont’d)
Centralization

The degree to which decision-making is concentrated

at a single point in the organizations.

 Organizations in which top managers make all the decisions

and lower-level employees simply carry out those orders.

Decentralization

 Organizations in which decision-making is pushed down to

the managers who are closest to the action.
Pg 13 of 33
Distributing Authority (Cont’d)

• More Centralization

Environment is stable.
Lower-level managers are not as capable or experienced
at making decisions as upper-level managers.
Lower-level managers do not want to have a say in
decisions.
Decisions are relatively minor.
Organization is facing a crisis or the risk of failure.
Company is large.
Effective implementation of company strategies depends
on managers retaining say over what happens. Pg 14 of 33
Distributing Authority (Cont’d)
 More Decentralization

 Environment is complex, uncertain.

 Lower-level managers are capable and experienced at
making decisions.
 Lower-level managers want a voice in decisions.
 Decisions are significant.
 Corporate culture is open to allowing managers to have a say
in what happens.
 Company is geographically dispersed.
 Effective implementation of company strategies depends on
managers having involvement and flexibility to make
decisions. Pg 15 of 33
Coordinating Activities
• Structural Coordination

 Managerial hierarchy
 Rules and procedures
 Liaison rules
 Task forces
 Integrating departments

Pg 16 of 33
Differentiating between Positions
• Line

• Staff

• Administrative Intensity

 The degree to which managerial positions are concentrated in staff

positions.

Pg 17 of 33
Staffing

 Functions

 Ensuring that competent employees are identified, recruited,

selected for the right jobs
 Providing employees with up-to-date knowledge and skills to do
their jobs.

Pg 18 of 33
Current Assessment of Jobs
 Job Analysis
 An assessment that defines a job and the behaviors
necessary to perform the job.
 Knowledge, skill and abilities (KSAs)
 Requires conducting interviews, engaging in direct observation,
and collecting the self-reports of employees and their
managers.

Pg 19 of 33
Current Assessment (Cont’d)
 Job Description
 A written statement of what the job holder does, how it
is done, and why it is done.

 Job Specification
 A written statement of the minimum qualifications that a
person must possess to perform a given job
successfully.

Pg 20 of 33
Meeting Future Human Resource Needs

Supply of Employees Demand for Employees

Factors Affecting Staffing

Strategic Goals
Forecast demand for products and services
Availability of knowledge, skills, and abilities

Pg 21 of 33
Recruitment
 It is the process of locating, identifying and attracting
capable applicants to an organization.

 E-recruiting
 Recruitment of employees through the Internet
 Organizational web sites
 Online recruiters

Pg 22 of 33
Exhibit 4-2 Main Job Sources for Potential Candidates

Pg 23 of 33
Selection
 Process
 The screening job applicants to ensure that the most
appropriate candidates are hired.
 An exercise in predicting which applicants, if hired, will
be (or will not be) successful in performing well on the
criteria the organization uses to evaluate performance.

Pg 24 of 33
Exhibit 4-3 Selection Devices

 Application Forms
 Written Tests
 Performance Simulations
 Interviews
 Background Investigations
 Physical examinations

Pg 25 of 33
Written Tests
 Types of Tests

 Intelligence: how smart are you?

 Aptitude: can you learn to do it?
 Attitude: how do you feel about it?
 Ability: can you do it now?
 Interest: do you want to do it?

Pg 26 of 33
Performance Simulation Tests
 Testing an applicant’s ability to perform actual job
behaviors, use required skills, and demonstrate
specific knowledge of the job.

 Work sampling

 Requiring applicants to actually perform a task or set of tasks

that are central to successful job performance.

 Assessment centers

 Dedicated facilities in which job candidates undergo a series of

performance simulation tests to evaluate their managerial
Pg 27 of 33
potential.
Other Selection Approaches
Interviews

Although used almost universally, managers need to approach

interviews carefully.

Background Investigations

Verification of application data

Reference checks:

• Lack validity because self-selection of references ensures only positive

outcomes.

Physical Examinations

Useful for physical requirements and for insurance purposes related

Pg to pre-
28 of 33
Exhibit 4-4 Suggestions for Interviewing

1. Structure a fixed set of questions for all

applicants.
2. Have detailed information about the job for which
applicants are being interviewed.
3. Minimize any prior knowledge of applicants’
background, experience, interests, test scores, or
other characteristics.
4. Ask behavioral questions that require applicants
to give detailed accounts of actual job behaviors.
5. Use a standardized evaluation form.
6. Take notes during the interview.
7. Avoid short interviews that encourage premature
decision making. Pg 29 of 33
Exhibit 4-5 Examples of “Can’t Ask and Can Ask”
Interview Questions for Managers*
Can’t Ask Can Ask
• What’s your birth date? • Are you over 18?
or How old are you? • Would/Can you
relocate?
• What’s your marital
status? or Do you plan • Have you ever been
to have a family? convicted of [fill in
the blank]?—The
• What’s your native
crime must be
home town/village? reasonably related to
• Have you ever been the performance of
arrested? the job.

Pg 30 of 33
Exhibit 4-6 Quality of Selection Devices as Predictors

Pg 31 of 33
Other Selection Approaches (Cont’d)
 Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

 The process of relating to an applicant both the positive

and the negative aspects of the job.

 Encourages mismatched applicants to withdraw.

 Aligns successful applicants’ expectations with actual job
conditions; reducing turnover.

Pg 32 of 33
Exhibit 4-7 What College Graduates Want From Jobs

 Work-life balance
 Annual base salary
 Appreciation of good performance
 Increasingly challenging tasks
 Rotational programs
 International career opportunities
 Flexible working hours
 Variety of assignments
 Paid overtime
 Working from home
Pg 33 of 33